Ashleigh tilted her head as she looked at the reflection in the mirror.
Her hair was loose with several small braids decorated with twigs and leaves. Along her hairline was a base of green with small black vines and leaves, painted to fra her face and then continue down her throat and to her fingertips.
Her eyes were highlighted with green and gold. Her lips were plumped in their natural pink hue, accentuated by a glossy finish.
When the costurs had finished, she had found looking at the beauty of the makeup she wore confusing, but looking down at the outfit was absolutely mind-boggling.
She wore thin leather boots that went just below the knee, a leather skirt, uneven in length, and yet altogether far too short. A belt at her waist allowed her a singular place to sheath her weapon. In terms of the top she wore, it was less of a shirt and more of a wrap. It wove around her ribcage and over each breast, crossing at her chest, around her neck, and down her back, tying off at the back of her ribs.
There was a knock at her door.
“Who is it?” she called.
“It’s ,” Bell called back.
“Co in,” Ashleigh said.
The door opened and Bell stepped inside, closing it behind her. She glanced at Ashleigh, her eyes wide and a grin on her face.
“Whoa…” Bell said.
“What the hell is this?” Ashleigh grumbled, crossing her arms.
“Hot,” Bell replied with an approving nod.
“I’m not supposed to be hot, I am supposed to be a warrior,” she growled..
“Why can’t you be both?” Bell said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
Ashleigh sighed.
“This is a ridiculous outfit,” she said. “There is only one place to hold a weapon and no real protection against injury. This is not ant for battle, at all.”
“I don’t know… I think Galen would kill to play a ga of wolves versus fae if I wore that…” Bell winked.
“Be serious, please?” Ashleigh said with irritation.
“Ok, seriously,” Bell smiled. “Most of the fae that we have descriptions of or have seen are creatures of nature. With armored skin and tendrils or claws for weapons. They didn’t wear plate or leather or fancy Sumr tech armor.”
“They weren’t all creatures,” Ashleigh replied. “So were depicted as humanoid, like Loki. He was a shapeshifter but what we know as his natural form still strongly resembles a human man.”
“True, and in those sa depictions, most of the clothing or armor that they wore was, well, like this,” Bell said indicating Ashleigh’s barely there outfit.
Ashleigh looked in the mirror again, she didn’t hate the look. It was attractive. But she was preparing for a battlefield, not a club.
“Ya know…” Bell whispered. “Caleb was selected for the wolves.”
“I know,” Ashleigh said.
“But not Winter,” Bell smiled.
Ashleigh turned with curious eyes.
“Who?” she asked, her smile giving away her eagerness.
***
“What the hell am I wearing?” Caleb growled as he looked in the mirror.
“Well,” Galen said, doing his best to maintain a straight face but finding it a genuine struggle. “The original Ravagers were heavily influenced by the stories of gladiators.”
Caleb wore a steel pauldron and bracer that were strapped across his chest and along the ribs. Steel greaves, and an oversized leather belt with a pleated skirt of black leather strips, whose separations left his well-toned thighs on display.
He clenched his jaw as he looked over his mostly exposed body. His left arm, chest, and the top half of his abdon. All left unprotected and exposed.
“This is ridiculous,” Caleb sighed. “You know those guys were basically actors, right?”
“The gladiators? Yea.” Galen nodded. “But the Ravagers didn’t do so bad in the battle. They survived, they continued to wear this stuff for a long ti without too much trouble.”
Caleb was unconvinced.
“Caleb, you do understand this is not a real battle, right? It’s literally a performance, look,” Galen picked up the sword that sat propped against the wall and hit it against the floor with a heavy thunk.
“It’s not even a real sword, just a practice blade.”
“You do it,” Caleb said.
“?” Galen cried out, looking over Caleb’s outfit again. “No thanks.”
Caleb grunted his annoyance.
“Sorry, the wife has on lockdown. I’m only here because she is checking on Ashleigh and I was definitely not going to join her on that mission.”
“Why not?” Caleb asked, crossing his arms.
Galen furrowed his brows, then laughed.
“You haven’t seen any of the fae costus yet, have you?” Galen asked.
***
The Wild Hunt was the final act of celebration and rembrance. During this event, all across Winter, mbers of the pack were dressed as warriors from the original last battle with Loki.
So would play the wolves, representing the different packs that had participated. And others would play the fae, dressing in costus or being painted to resemble them.
The huntsman was the leader of the charge. The Winter wolf was chosen to represent Alpha Geri. Usually, the huntsman was selected through competitions in the weeks leading up to the Wild Hunt,
with the runner-up taking the role of Loki.
But this year, due to the oncoming war and the previous attacks, no such competitions were held.
Instead, the decision was made that Wyatt and Axel would take up the roles of Loki and Geri.
Once the wolves were all dressed for the battle, Loki and Geri would begin the famous hunt. Loki would run from the north down to the southern border, with Geri hot on his heels.
All around them, minor skirmishes would occur between the wolves and the fae until it was just the two of them, and Loki was defeated by Geri.
The hunt would usually last no more than an hour, and in that ti, the wolves of Winter let out all the aggression and frustration of the year. They beat the ever-living hell out of each other and held no grudges the following day.
Caleb wasn’t sure exactly how long it had been. He had been sent to an area of Winter he hadn’t explored much of, and wandering through the trees, he thought he might genuinely be lost.
It wasn’t long before he was found.
A man jumped out, he wore tan pants, and his chest was painted in leaves and vines. His face had a similar design that covered his eyes.
The man smiled and leaped at Caleb.
He caught the man quickly and threw him back toward the ground. Then, moving into a defensive position, he readied his sword.
The man stepped back, and Caleb followed, catching the smile on the man’s face a second too late.
A burning pull tore at his ankle and Caleb was suddenly yanked to the ground, hard. He let out a grunt and then he was lifted into the air, swinging back and forth as he was barely able to keep hold of his sword. He spat the snow and dirt that had dragged across his face.
“My oh my, said the spider to the fly,” ca a sing-songy voice, that he would recognize anywhere. “What I have I caught in my web.”
Caleb’s eyes widened as she stepped into the beams of moonlight that slipped through the trees. His eyes road over her body with a newfound appreciation for the leather skin fashion of ancient people. He was barely able to keep himself from letting out the growl that had ford deep within him.
He licked his lips as she approached.
Ashleigh gave him a wicked smile as she stood with her face re centiters from his.
“I believe that brings ahead by two,” she said sweetly.
“Oh, that’s not a win, my love,” Caleb replied with his own smile. “He caught , not you.”
Ashleigh pursed her lips, but the smile didn’t leave her eyes.
“Fine,” she said. “Cut him down.”
“But, Ashleigh,” the man tried to counter.
“Co on, Jeremy,” Ashleigh sighed.
Jeremy rolled his eyes but lowered the rope, easing Caleb to the ground.
“Now what?” Jeremy asked, clearly annoyed by the action.
Caleb rose to his feet, dusting off his shoulders he took a deep breath through his nose and gave Ashleigh a dangerous smile.
“Now, go hunt your own prey,” Ashleigh said, never taking her eyes off Caleb. A silent exchange passed between their eyes. An unspoken need. “This one is mine.”
Jeremy sighed, but without another word he ran into the trees, leaving Ashleigh and Caleb staring at each other under the light of the full moon.
“Are you ready?” Caleb asked, moving into a fighting stance and readying his sword.
Ashleigh smiled and moved into her stance, unsheathing her short sword.
“Co and get ,” she whispered.
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